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Munich's art festival "Various Others" kicks off this week with major city museums participating. The Pinakothek der Moderne presents "Reflexion," a group show of 100 works across fine art, architecture, graphic design, and design by artists including Isa Genzken, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Piet Zwart, and Ettore Sottsass. The Alexander-Tutsek-Stiftung celebrates its 25th anniversary with a glass-focused exhibition featuring Monica Bonvicini, Tony Cragg, and Laure Prouvost. The Villa Stuck reopens after renovation with four shows: Philipp Messner's sculptures, Ilit Azoulay's macro-film installation, a returning Franz von Stuck painting, and Delschad Numan Khorschid and Jan-Hendrik Pelz's migration-themed "Zehn Leben." The Lenbachhaus presents "Ein Ferngespräch. Szenen aus der Weimarer Republik" with works by Jeanne Mammen, Gabriele Münter, and Christian Schad. Museum Brandhorst's "Carrying" addresses the history of the Maxvorstadt art district, once site of a military barracks built by Ottoman prisoners. The Eres Stiftung continues "Seeing the Unseen" on quantum physics. The Flux meeting space, designed by Morag Myerscough, moves indoors at the Pinakothek der Moderne.
Christie's 20th and 21st Century Art sales in New York from 12-15 May 2025 achieved a total of $693 million across six sales, reaching 123% of the low estimate. The top lot was Piet Mondrian's 1922 painting *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue*, which sold for $47.56 million. Other highlights included Claude Monet's *Peupliers au bord de l'Epte, crépuscule* (1891) at $42.96 million, and Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* (1997), which set a record for a living female artist. The Leonard & Louise Riggio collection alone brought $272 million, while the 20th Century Evening Sale achieved $217 million with a 100% sell-through rate. New artist records were set for Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, Louis Fratino, Simone Leigh, and Emma McIntyre.
Munich's Museum Villa Stuck, the former home of Symbolist artist Franz von Stuck, reopens on 18 October after a €13.5m renovation. The project upgraded infrastructure, restored the facade, and renewed historical rooms, including music and reception salons with restored Pompeii-inspired wall paintings and new silk curtains. The museum's display of Stuck's paintings has been reconfigured, with fresh exhibits such as a recently donated work, and the total number of Stuck paintings on view has increased. The reopening coincides with a contemporary art exhibition, 'A Song of Ascents,' featuring Manchester-based artist Louise Giovanelli.
Le fantasme de la femme fatale
A documentary titled "Le fantasme de la femme fatale" (The Fantasy of the Femme Fatale), directed by Susanne Brand, is available on Arte.tv. The film traces the visual history of the femme fatale, a seductive and dangerous figure prevalent in centuries of figurative painting by male artists like Gustave Moreau and Franz Von Stuck, often depicted as Salome or languid nymphs.
Christie's Spring Marquee Week, held May 12–15, 2025 in New York, generated $693 million in total sales, exceeding the low estimate by 123% and surpassing the auction house's totals from both May and November 2024. The week featured six evening and day sales, led by the $272 million Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works sale, with the top lot being Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922) selling for $47.6 million. Marlene Dumas' *Miss January* set a new auction record for a living female artist at $13.6 million, and additional records were set for Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre, Louis Fratino, Dorothea Tanning, and Remedios Varo. The overall sell-through rate was 88% by lot, with strong bidding across all price bands.